System Settings and system information

Open System Settings from the Apple menu. This is where you change how the Mac behaves: display, sound, network, accounts, privacy.

The sidebar lists dozens of sections, and options move between them across macOS versions. Do not browse — search. The search field at the top of the sidebar is faster than remembering which section contains an option. Type “resolution”, “screenshot”, or “Bluetooth” and jump straight to the setting.

What Mac is this?

Open General → About to see the macOS version, chip, memory, serial number, and storage summary.

You can read the same facts from Terminal:

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

The output looks like this:

Model Name: MacBook Air
Chip: Apple M2
Total Number of Cores: 8
Memory: 16 GB
Serial Number (system): X0XXD4XXXX

For the full hardware and software inventory, hold the Option key and open the Apple menu: About This Mac becomes System Information, a separate app that lists every device, network interface, and installed extension.

Why this matters before asking for help

Record the exact macOS version and chip when asking for technical help or before installing software. Instructions can differ between Intel and Apple silicon Macs, and between macOS versions.

A typical failure looks like this: you follow a guide written for an Intel Mac on an Apple silicon machine, and an installer or fix does nothing or errors out. The guide was not wrong — it was written for different hardware. Checking General → About first tells you which instructions apply to you.

The same applies to version numbers. “Requires macOS 15 or later” is only meaningful once you know what you are running. Thirty seconds in About saves an hour of confusion later.